Across the pond, Fleet Street Daily’s Ben Traynor says the Bank of England has about as much idea as the rest of us when it comes to the current economic crisis. Worse still, Ben says embattled British prime minister Gordon Brown could do even more damage to the economy as he seeks a short-term reprieve in opinion polls by targeting major oil companies.

The Misery Index is set to make a comeback in Britain. It’s a fair bet that only those of you who remember the 1990s recession will have much idea of what I’m talking about, because that was the last time anyone spent any time discussing it. So what is it?

There’s been plenty of gloomy news on the UK economy in the past month, from grim data on house prices (down 8.8% in the past year, says Halifax) to miserable surveys in manufacturing and the service sector. But how is all this grim data affecting real companies?

15% per year is a good rate of return. Actually 10% per year is a good rate of return. But 15.2%, to be exact, is the annual increase in net asset value achieved by B.P. Marsh & Partners (LON:BPM) since 1990.

The late Sir John Templeton always advised that you buy at the point of “maximum pessimism”. It sounds like great advice, but as Julian Marr points out in The Telegraph this morning, it’s actually not that helpful.